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Has Motivational Interviewing Fallen into its Own Premature Focus Trap?

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Abstract

Since the initial conception of the behaviour change method Motivational Interviewing, there has been a shift evident in epistemological, methodological and practical applications, from an inductive, process and practitioner-focussed approach to that which is more deductive, research-outcome, and confirmatory-focussed. This paper highlights the conceptual and practical problems of adopting this approach, including the consequences of assessing the what (deductive outcome-focussed) at the expense of the how (inductively process-focussed). We encourage a return to an inductive, practitioner and client-focussed MI approach and propose the use of Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Systems such as NVivo in research initiatives to support this aim.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychological, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Coventry University, Coventry, UK

    Charlotte Emma Hilton

  2. Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Gloucestershire, UK

    Claire Lane

  3. City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, Sunderland, UK

    Lynne Halley Johnston

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  1. Charlotte Emma Hilton
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  2. Claire Lane
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Correspondence to Charlotte Emma Hilton.

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Hilton, C.E., Lane, C. & Johnston, L.H. Has Motivational Interviewing Fallen into its Own Premature Focus Trap?. Int J Adv Counselling 38, 145–158 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-016-9262-y

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